Carl (or Karl) August
Hamann (1827--1892) was born on
September 11, 1827 in Berlin Germany, a son of Johann
and Anna Dorothea Hamann.1 His first musical training
came from his father. Later he studied the piano and
organ with Carl August Haupt at the Royal
Academy of Church Music in Berlin, and composition with
Carl Friedrich Rumgenhagen, music director of the
Berliner Singakademie.2 His father died when he was twenty
and he became responsible for the support of the family
which he did by giving piano lessons. With this as
motivation his musical skills improved to the point
where he was appointed accompanist to the Royal
Orchestra of Berlin. When he was offered a permanent
position with the Royal Chamber Concerts, he and his
family, chose instead to emigrate to the United States
in August, 1851. He was accompanied by his mother, his
brother, Johan Adolph Hamann, and two sisters, Augusta,
and Anna Dorothea, arriving in New York on October 4,
1851.3
Disappointed by the opportunities he found in New York,
August went on to Columbus, Ohio where he had friends
living. On June 26, 1852, he made a primary declaration
of his intention to become a citizen of the United
States in the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County,
Ohio. The following year he and his family moved
to the Boston area and took up residence in the
Cambridgeport neighborhood.

In Boston Mr. Hamann served as solo horn under several
of the great conductors of the day including Joseph
Gungl, Carl
Bergmann, Carl
Zerrahn, and in Selwyn's
Theatre Orchestra conducted by Charles Koppitz.
4
Later he was the horn player in the Boston Theater
Orchestra conductd by Napier Lothian. He also
appeared a number of times with the Mendelssohn
Quintette Club (see reviews below) and as accompanist
to Camilla
Urso, the celebrated violinist. In the
summer of 1863, at the height of the Civil War, he was
registered as eligible to do military duty, but was
apparently not conscripted into service, as he continued
to appear locally as a musician.5 In 1873 he became the organist at
the Cambridge North Avenue Congregational Church.

Two years after becoming a citizen of the United States,
August Hamann died on January 6, 1892 and was buried at
Mount Auburn Cemetery. He was survived by two sons and
one daughter from his first marriage, and his widow and
two daughters.

Mr. Hamann's horn of choice was designed and
made by Elbridge G. Wright of Boston. His endorsement
(above) dated February 25, 1868, appeared in
catalogs of the Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory
which was formed in 1869 by the merger of E.G. Wright
& Co. and Graves & Co. The Boston version of the
horn is shown at the right.

Some reviews:
New Orchestra. A number of the best artists in the
Musical Fund Society, especially Germans, have organized
a separate, smaller orchestra, with the view to
giving frequent concerts somewhat after the manner of
the “Germanians.” … Mr. Hamann, who played the fine horn
solo at a late Quintette Soirée is to be first horn.[Dwight’s Journal, I no.2 (17
April 1852) p. 15]

Mr. Hamann, the fine French hornist, is down for a
solo on Senora De Ribas’ very attractive programme
for her complimentary concert this evening.[Dwight’s Journal, I no. 4 (1 May
1852) p. 30]

We understand that changes have been made in the
distribution of the instruments expecially the wind
instruments, hitherto a chronic weakness of the body,
which are of the greatest importance to the unity and
vitality of the whole. It is amicably settled that a
number of the older members retire from the actual
occupancy of certain instruments and give place to
fresher and more accomplished artists…. Messrs. Hamann
(a new member and an excellent player) and the younger
Fries, the horns; Messrs. Dorn and Endres being still
available for supplementary horns.[Dwight’s Journal, II no.9 (4
December 1852) p.71]

Mendelssohn Quintette Club – The Second Chamber Concert,
Thursday Dec. 9th, drew a large audience, who seemed
deeply interested to the end. The Sextet by Beethoven,
for string quartet and two horns obligato (in E flat,
op. 81) tasked the solo-playing capacity of the horns
rather too severely in the first and last movements,
though they were played by such skilful artists as
Messrs. Hamann and Eichler. We fancy that
Beethoven must have written that, more for the
gratification of some extraordinary couple of hornists,
than from the promptings of his own taste and
genius; why make the slow but honest horns perform
the work of flutes? The Adagio was more suited to the
genius of the instrument, where it enriched and filled
the harmony with its warm mellow tones.[Dwight’s Journal, II no.11 (18
December 1852) p.86]

January 15, 1853: Fourth Musical Fund Concert
We congratulate the Society on the accession of so
artistic a horn player as Mr. Hamann. His solo was well
selected, an expressive Adagio, not too long, and
without the fashionable nuisance of absurd variations;
and from the sweet pure, feelingly modulated tones of
his instrument it breathed like a mysterious voice
melody from forest depths. All was within the tone
sphere and genius of the instrument.[Dwight’s Journal, II no.16 (22
January 1853) p.125-126.]

Also appreciated for his pianistic skills, Mr. Hamann
performed with the Quintette Club of Boston on February
10, 1857. Though not impressed with the overall program
the reviewer in the Boston
Dailey Atlas had this to say regarding Mr.
Hamann: "An Andante of Haydn for violoncello and piano,
was exceedingly well given by Messrs. W. Fries and
Hamann, and was received with much applause."

On January 29, 1862 Mr. Hamann was a featured soloist on
a concert by the Orchestral
Union conducted by Carl Zerrahn. The work was
described as a "German Song arranged for orchestra,
(first in this country) with Horn Obbligato." In
December of the same year he appeared with the Quintette
Club as a horn player performing as soloist and in
the Beethoven Septet, op. 20.

In November 1864, Mr. Hamann volunteered his services to
the National Sailor's Fair, held at the Boston Theatre.
On March 16, 1865 he once again accompanied violinist
Camilla Urso before a vast audience at Huntington Hall
in Lowell Mass and the following week at Lyceum Hall, in
Salam: "...the accompanimets were well and artistically
played by Mr. Hamann."

On March 27 1867, he performed at Huntington Hall with
the Mendelssohn Quintette Club and fellow members of the
Boston Orchestral Union in the Schubert Octette. He also
played a horn solo, "Le Songe".

Boston Journal,
September 10, 1868.

Mr. Hamann was listed first in the horn section of the
huge orchestra amassed for the National
Peace Jubilee held at the Boston Coliseum in June
1869. The event was organized by Patrick Gilmore.
Reportedly there were 100 choral groups represented with
a total of 10,926 singers, 525 musicians in the
orchestra, and 486 musicians in the wind band. The
orchestra horn section comprised 31 players from Boston,
New York, and Cincinnati.

On March 18, 1870 he performed as a horn player on a
concert for the Harvard Musical Association in Hummel's
Septet. Also on the program were Schumann's Second
Symphony, and Weber's Oberon Overture, conducted by Carl
Zerrahn.

In 1873 Mr. Hamann moved to Somerville, Massachusetts
and became organist at the Cambridge North Avenue
Congregational Church. At the smae time he became
the horn player in the Boston Theater Orchestra conductd
by Napier Lothian. In 1886 he was obliged to resign and
retire from public performance for health reasons. He
did, however maintain an active private teaching studio
until his death on January 6, 1892,

Special thanks Mrs. Joan
Popovic, great-grand-daughter of August Hamann for
providing family information and photos of Mr. Hamann, and to
Robert Eliason and Robb Stewart for their assistance. Also
thanks to Cinde Waller for the photos of Karl Hamann's stein
which has since been returned to the family, and to Michelle
Bacich for information on her great-grandmother, Mabel Keith
Bowditch Fitzgerald.

Notes

1. Estimates of Mr. Hamann's birth year
found in public records vary from as early as 1826 to 1830. His
statement on naturalization documents state 1829, however family
records indicate 1827 which is used here. For most of his life
Mr. Hamann used only the given name, August, however there are
several references in Boston and Somerville city directories
where he is named C. August Hamman. He, like many in his
generation, was probably named after
the great German reformer,
Karl
(or Carl or Charles) August (1757 -
1828), Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
So well liked in Berlin because of his relationship with
Prussia, the famous Karl-August-Platz in Berlin (Mr. Hamann's
birthplace), was named for him in 1897 almost seventy years
after his death. That Mr. Hamann was one of his many namesakes
is evidenced in particular, in the his notice of filing for
divorce from his first wife in 1869 where he states his name as
C. August Hamann, as do several city directories. In the 1892
Somerville directory, where he is also listed as "Hamann,
C. August, music teacher (449 Washington, B), house 262 Summer"
(corner of Cedar St.). Within the same listing is his son,
"Hamann, Charles A., Jr., bookkeeper (B.) , h. 69
Cedar". the latter address located just up the street from Mr.
Hamann's. Son, Charles A. Hamann married Alice B. Baker,
on August 11, 1889.(back)

2. The newspaper clipping shown on this page
has the name "Rumpenhagen" which is also found in one
contemporary account but is certainly a misprint. Carl
Friedrich Rungenhagen (1778- 1851) was a well-known
composer and music teacher in Berlin, and was undoubtedly
Hamman's teacher.(back)

3. In the 1855 Massachusetts State Census,
August (29), Dorthe (55), Augusta (25), and Dorothea (7) are
listed living in Cambridge. Mr. Hamann's brother, John [or
Johan] Adolf Hamann was a very successful Jeweler in New York
City. (back)

4. In addition to conducting theater
orchestras, Koppitz was professor of orchestration at Boston
University.(back)

5. August Hamann appears in the Consolidated
List of all persons of Class II, subject to do military service
in the Fourth Congressional District consisting of a part of the
Counties of Suffolk and Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts.
Class I comprises all persons subject to do military duty
between the ages of twenty and thirty-five years, and all
unmarried persons subject to do military duty above the age of
thirty-five years and under the age of forty-five. Class II
comprises all other persons subject to do military duty. Mr.
Hamann was listed as being 37 years old.(back)

6. The Massachusetts State Census,
taken on May 1, 1865 for Ward Four of Cambridge states that Lucy
was born in Haiti. In addition to the children listed above, the
household included Mr. Hamann's mother, Anna D. [Dorothea]
Hamann, age 63. Son Emory was listed as Emily H. (female) age 7
months. Mr. Hamann accused Lucy of adultery and published a
formal notice on July 8, 1869 naming Eugene Bowditch as
co-respondent. The full name of daughter Louisa (1867-68) was
Louisa Bowditch Hamann, and apparently August registered her as
his own daughter since he had not yet filed for divorce.
According to Boston birth records Lucy Bell and Eugene Bowditch
later had another daughter, Mabel Keith Bowditch born January
24, 1870. Following his divorce from Lucy, Mr. Hamann's mother
and two sons moved to Cincinnati to live with his sisters, Dora
and Augusta. The 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Cincinnati lists
the following: Dora Haman (53), Dora Haman (25), Augusta Haman
(30), Charles Haman (7) and Emery [sic] Haman (5). Age
differences of mother Dora (Dorothe) and sister Augusta between
the 1855 census and 1870 might be due to vanity, while dates for
sister Dora (Dorothea), and sons Charles, and Emory are
consistent with other records. Custody of daughter Bertha
Jessica was awarded to her mother, Lucy. Following her divorce
from Mr. Hamann and her marriage to Mr. Bowditch, Lucy married
Dr. John Foye with whom she had a son John Wilson Foye
(1875-1890) and the family moved to California. Bertha Jessica
took the name Foye and married a Mr. Clayton. Mabel Keith
Bowditch also took the name of Foye as a child, and later
became an actress under the name of Mabel Keith. She married
Clarence Fitzgerald with whom she had a son, Bertram L.
Fitzgerald (1895-1974). Mabel died February 22, 1909. Lucy
Bell's fourth husband was Charles G. Lidstrom (or Leidstromm) of
San Francisco. Lucy and her son John Foye were killed in an
avalanche in Logansville, California on January 17, 1890;
Mr. Lidstrom's life was spared in the snow slide. Mr. Hamann's
sister Augusta never married, however as noted in the clipping
above, his other sister, Dora, married Mr. Max M. Peyser in
Cincinnati, but with tragic results:

A Strange Story. The Cincinnati Enquirer
tells a strange story of the sudden death of a wealthy
citizen, his lunacy, marriage, and strange ending. It says
that Mr. Henry Strasberg, a merchant, yesterday called on
Coroner Maley and demanded to have an inquest on the body of
Max M. Peyser, a merchant on Fourth street, who died under
what is considered suspicious circumstances. Mr. Peyser had
married the day before his death, and was sitting, on the
morning of his death, at the breakfast table. He then
complained of pain, stood up, went into an adjoining room and
fell dead. Dr. Barholow was called in, and he, together with a
student of Good Samaritan Hospital, cut open Peyser's body,
and prepared to hold a post-mortem examination.
Upon what authority he did this is not stated. The Coroner
immediately took the matter in charge and took the contenst of
the man's stomach into his posession for analysis. Dr.
Bartholow gave the cause of Peyser's death as consumption. The
history of the case is a strange one. Peyser had
been a successful merchant on Fourth street up to about seven
months ago, when he became crazy. On a writ from the
Probate Court he was sent to the Longview Asylum, and Mr. N.
Bettmann was appointed administrator of his estate, which was
valued at $50,000. At Longview he seemed to grow better, and
about six weeks ago he was let out, when he resumed charge of
his affairs. On Thursday last he married Miss Dora M.
Hamann, a lady of about thirty-five, (Peyser was about fifty
[40 years, 1 month, and 20 days according to the death
notice], who had for ten years managed the business at
his store on Fourth stree, and for whom he had always shown
great affection. The license for the marriage was got from
the Probate Court. Miss Hamann and her mother had been
living at No. 46 Dayton street, and it was herre ther Mr.
Peyser was married. The morning following his marriage he
dropped dead a few minutes after breakfast, as above stated.
Miss Hamann is a Christian, while Mr. Peyser was a Hebrew,
and the marriage naturally caused much talk among those
acquainted with the parties; not only becouse of the
respective ages of the pair, and the social relations.
The man's craziness, his wealth, his strange marriage, and
sudden death, altogether make a story that is being widely
discussed, and it excites great comment and conjecture.[New York Commercial Advertiser, June
14, 1873]

7. According to the 1900 Census only two of
the three children survived, and only the two daughters are
mentioned in the above clipping. On April 5, 1899, daughter
Elizabeth A. Hamann married Adolph F. Wehner of Newark, N.J. The
ceremony was held at her mother's residence, 262 Summer St.,
West Somerville, however sister Dora was not mentioned as being
in the party. (back)